T.J. Watt remains tied with Michael Strahan for the NFL’s all-time single-season sack record after the Steelers’ appeal of a controversial play on Sunday in Baltimore was rejected, according to a report by Charean Williams of NBC.
The Steelers appealed a decision by the official scorer that when Watt tackled Baltimore quarterback Tyler Huntley in the backfield in the first quarter of the game, it was not a sack, but instead just a tackle for loss after Huntley recovered a fumbled snap.
Steelers players, including quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, lobbied to have the scorekeeper’s ruling overturned. Elias Sports Bureau is the independent arbiter for scoring disputes, and the research firm decided to stay with the way the play was scored initially.
Watt was one sack shy of Strahan’s record when he tackled Huntley on the play. He later tied the record at 22.5 sacks.